


Catastrophe Dance Night

by Cake and Pi (Tarrin)



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-26 01:36:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3832240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarrin/pseuds/Cake%20and%20Pi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wally picked Artemis up for prom early. That was easy enough. That was also the signal for everything to go wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catastrophe Dance Night

**Author's Note:**

> Technically follows '[Do That Again](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3642873)' but should work as a standalone too.

Dick was his best friend. So by rights Wally should have asked him about where to take a prom date to dinner in Gotham. But he had already gone into favor-debt with Dick just to get a ticket to the prom - and how Dick had any tickets when the guy wasn’t even in high school was highly suspicious - and he was already dreading what Dick might ask from him in the future. Anyway, Dick had started cackling at him, and that was just too cruel. So he went to the second best source for advice. His parents.

They had, as the wonderful parents they were, made an enormous deal over it. But it was worth it. He had a reservation at an “nice but not over the top” resturaunt, and his parents _were going to reimburse him for it_ , and his mother had gone above and beyond the call of duty and helped him find a corsage (and boutonnière) once Artemis had finally found a dress… the day before prom.

He made sure to get to her place early.

That was easy.

And that’s where it all started to go wrong.

-

He remembered her apartment number. But the shouting would have clued him in where to knock, even if he had forgotten. “Jade! I don’t need -”

“ _Yes you do._ What if he puts his hands on you?”

“ _ARTEMIS!_ ” Two women shouted in unison. Wally hesitated for a second, not at all because he suddenly realized, in the way of facts that had always been _known_ but never actually _thought about_ , that Artemis’s sister and mother both knew several painful ways to take apart people. He took a moment to make sure his appearance couldn’t be faulted, just in case. Then he knocked.

There was a sudden, ominous silence, then the door creaked open. Cheshire - no, Jade, she wasn’t in her assassin outfit - stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, giving him a look that promised murder.

This was both infinitely better and infinitely worse than facing her in combat.

Then Artemis’s mother wheeled into view behind her.

“Hi? I’m… I’m Wally, Wally West. Here to pick up Artemis? For prom?” He managed to squeak after a long moment.

The two looked him up and down, wordlessly making it very clear that the only reason he was not already dead was because Artemis might object. _Might_.

“Wally!” Artemis appeared behind her mother, in a beautiful green dress, hair cascading over her shoulders in soft waves. “Great! _Let’s go._ ” She tried to shoulder past her family, only to be stopped when her mom grabbed her wrist.

“Remember, I want pictures.” The older woman said. “And you are to call me when you get there.”

“Mom! I’m not _five_.”

“No, you’re sixteen and almost an adult. But you’re still my little girl -”

“ _MOM!_ ”

While the two argued, Jade leaned nearer Wally. “If, by some misfortune, my sister arrives back with a single complaint, I will _personally_ come and find you, and we will go over, in detail, where things went wrong. You don’t want that.” She murmured, pitching her voice so that only he would hear, smiling, in almost friendly manner but showing far too many teeth. Wally nodded vigorously. He tried to console himself with the fact that she probably didn’t know he was Kid Flash. It didn’t help.

“Okaywe'regoinggoodbye!” Artemis pushed her sister back inside - which only worked because Jade allowed it - and slammed the door closed. “Sorry about that,” she said, a blush spreading over her cheeks and down her neck.

Wally shrugged. “My parents want pictures too. And would’ve wanted you to stay and chat with them and everything.” Artemis shuddered.

The trip downstairs was mercifully uneventful. But only until they got out of the building. Wally froze when he saw Alfred standing near a sleek black limo. “Master Wallace. Miss Artemis.” The man greeted them. Then Dick got out the car and Wally didn’t quite whimper.

“Hey Artemis!”

“Hi Alfred, Grayson.” Artemis waved at them. She looked at Wally and frowned. “Why do you look like cheese, Wally?”

“Huh?!” Wally was drawn out of his plans for vengence - nevermind that he didn’t quite know what he’ be getting vengence _for_ yet, but he was very sure some reason would arise before the night was over.

“This’s my friend from school, Richard Grayson. There’s a dance for the younger grades. He’s going to that with his friend Barbara, and you hadn’t said anything about arranging a ride…” Artemis trailed off, voice raised in a question. Wally’s mouth opened and shut a few times.

“Um. Good thinking.” He said weakly. Artemis smirked at him and allowed Alfred to help her into the limo.

“Wally, right?” Dick’s grin was wolfish, and Wally could have cheerfully murdered him.

-

Dinner went without incident, beyond Barbara pointing out that Wally had yet to give Artemis her corsage. Dick, seeing the look on Wally’s face, did as a best friend ought and almost hyperventilated trying to keep from cackling.

-

There was a moment of panic when he and Artemis simultaneously realized halfway through their first dance the very important phone call home hadn’t been made. They both managed to drop their phones in the ensuing scramble, leaving Wally with a broken piece of electronics. Fortunately, Artemis’s still worked, even though its screen was cracked.

-

His heart skipped a beat when Artemis leaned her head on his shoulder during a slow dance. Then it skipped a beat for a different reason when the room erupted into screams.

Artemis’s head whipped up, and they both turned to find the source of the screaming. One of the walls had turned to solid ice. Some of the people nearest it were quickly freezing in turn. Those that could still move were running away. Artemis had to shout at him to remind him that they were civilians just now, and ought to be part of the fleeing crowd.

(Later, he would deny that in an effort to secretly save the day, he also got frozen. Robin didn’t have proof anyway, as the Boy Wonder’s electronics mysteriously got fried before Robin could make backups of the pictures he’d taken of the frozen Wally.)

-

By the time Batman and Robin beat Mister Freeze, and the more unfortunate students and teachers defrosted, prom was officially over. Leaning against Artemis, waiting for Alfred to come pick them up - and Wally made a mental note to do something really nice for the man, like bring him some of his mom’s cooking or something - Wally pulled the blanket he’d been provided tighter and manfully resisted an urge to sneeze. He really, really, _really_ did not want to know how many body parts he’d lose from sneezing into Artemis’s hair.

“Looks like it’ll rain.” Artemis murmured, leaning back against him. “Maybe we should -”

Lightning flashed, thunder booming loud enough to rattle his bones, and the sky opened up. Water streamed down, not in buckets, but in bathtubs, so thick that he wouldn’t have been able to avoid getting wet even with his superspeed. Despite the fact that they were both already soaked, Wally raised the blanket over both their heads even as he sighed in defeat.

-

Jade opened the door before Artemis could fit her key in the lock. She took one one look at the two of them, dragged Artemis inside, and slammed the door closed.

-

He didn’t hear from Artemis all weekend, and Wally resigned himself to the fact that she had, almost certainly, dumped him. He reported to the Cave after school Monday, despite the lurch in his gut, getting there early so he could carefully avoid Artemis easier. To his horror, she was already there, and grabbed him by his shirt as soon as he Zeta’d in.

“Uh- wha- Artemis?” She was dragging him away from the Zeta tubes, towards the tunnels that led to the beach. He shut up; that, and her silence, could only mean one thing. She meant to yell at him where she wouldn’t be overheard by either Superboy or the computers.

So he was surprised that, when they got outside and sand was under their feet, she pulled him down into a kiss. A rather… involved one…

“Huh?” He said intelligibly when she finally broke the kiss. She grinned up at him, eyes dancing with humor.

“So when are we going on another date?”

He stared at her, flabbergasted. “A- another? But that one was -”

“Horrible? Yes. Yes it was. And if the next is worse, we’re going to have to have a talk. But it’s not going to be worse.”

Wally, about to argue that they were superheros, of _course_ the next date could be worse. And probably would be, knowing his luck. Then he looked at her again, and decided it’d be wiser not to. He was learning, if slowly. “Friday evening? Seven pm?” He suggested instead.

“Sounds good.” She grinned up at him and, as he was leaning in for another kiss, slipped out of his arms and walked back inside. “The computer just announced Batman. You should hurry and change!” She called over her shoulder.

Turned out their next mission - covert, as always, which by now was code for “don’t kill anyone in the explosions” - would be Friday.

Wally just hoped it wouldn’t also be raining.

**Author's Note:**

> Every girl for herself, but Jade reserves the right to act as a protective older sister when she feels like it.


End file.
